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December 22, 2021

A Conversation with Future Music Residency artists Sejal and Missy D

Missy D and Sejal of Laydy Jams.

[Image description: Missy D and Sejal are two women of colour who together make up the musical duo Laydy Jams. They are standing back-to-back and are smiling vibrantly at the camera. Missy D is on the left, has long, wavy, radiant purple hair and is wearing a lavender shirt. Sejal is on the right, has dark brown, long, curly hair, and is wearing a purple shirt. She holds a violin in her hands close to her chest. Photo by Desmin Sidhu, @shotbydess_.]

Earlier this year, ArtStarts partnered with Vancouver International Children’s Festival and artist Rup Sidhu (@rubysingh_) to host the inaugural Future Music Residency. The residency hosted 9 QTBIPOC artists and provided professional development opportunities for the artists to help them engage young audiences through their music.

Rup Sidhu, who developed the residency, provided mentorship. Artists attended a Digital Learning Lab and expanded their capacities on a range of topics led by ArtStarts artists and staff. The residency culminated with the artists performing at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

We caught up with Sejal and Missy D, who together make up the musical duo Laydy Jams, to learn more about their experience.

ArtStarts: What is Laydy Jams? How did Lady Jams come to fruition?

Laydy Jams: Laydy Jams is the musical best-friend-duo, Missy D and Sejal. Our musical collaboration started while we were in university together - we started out as a group of university friends, performing for our friends at open mics and clubs around the city.

Our music is a reflection of our friendship, of the variety of experiences and backgrounds we both come from, and our way of reflecting creatively and critically about what we see going on in our communities and the world around us.

ArtStarts: How did you hear about the Future Music (FM) Residency?

Laydy Jams: The multi-talented musician Rup Sidhu (also known as Ruby Singh and Rup Loops) has been a long-time mentor for us, both as Laydy Jams and for us individually. He told us about the FM residency last year when he was putting the whole program together, and encouraged us to participate.

Sejal of Laydy Jams

[Image description: Sejal, one half of the musical duo Laydy Jams, sits cross legged holding her violin on a field of grass and small white flowers. She has dark curly hair, is looking away from the camera and smiling. She wears a gold t-shirt and dark navy skirt with bold gold-coloured lotus flower print. The image is framed by a tree and foliage directly behind Sejal on the right. In the distant background is a body of water, mountains and the sky. Photo by Caleigh Mayer.]

ArtStarts: Was there anything that surprised you about the residency?

Laydy Jams: Really loved the diversity of musical styles that all the participant artists brought to the table! What an inspiring cohort to be a part of.

ArtStarts: As part of the residency, you had the opportunity to participate in ArtStarts Learning Lab. What was that experience like?

Laydy Jams: I appreciated the chance to get a backgrounder into the variety of options available for bringing our music into a school setting, ranging from touring schools to more involved Artists in Classrooms programs. Carmen Papalia's Open Access Learning Lab particularly stood out to me. It was refreshing to hear the multitude of ways that folks have thought about making arts programming more accessible, and to be more inclusive of all ages and all bodies. I found myself thinking about how uncomfortable and restrictive many music venues are in which I've performed in the past, and the ways in which I am looking forward to planning music shows in the future to be more accessible.

You can learn more about the musical duo and find them on Instagram: @laydjams, @sejalmusic, @missydmusic.

 

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